Alex
Loremaster Perri's Note: While this version of the character has since passed away, Alex - or his soul, at least - does still 'live', possessing a robot in order to be able to interact with the world. For the current version of the character, refer to the following page; the below serves as a historical record of Alex's mortal life. (The following is in some desperate need of heavy revision...which will be gotten to...eventually ;_; ) Alexander (better known as Alex, or Alexchu) was a yokai, with the outer body of a shiny pikachu (and previously, that of a shiny pichu), and the inner soul of a human being. His personality was somewhere in between friendly and outgoing and pensive and reserved - with a naive (and perhaps too-trusting) streak a mile wide, and a hope to have done good deeds as much as he was able to. He was possessed of a Lonely Nature despite his many, many friends, whom he cherished with all his heart; in the latter part of his life, his deep, if selfish, wish had been for a mate to share his home and his love with, and for a child (both of which, happily, came true). He was not without a dash of impetuosity, but at the same time, was also a bit of a pushover - so desperate to do right by the friends he loved that he would rarely try to assert himself and put his own needs first, and when he did do exactly that, he felt selfish for it. He celebrated his fifth birthday about a month before his death - in normal human-years-to-'chu-years conversion terms, he'd have been considered roughly equivalent to a thirty year old man cut down in his prime, but for kojyuumen - the species of yokai to which Alex belonged - the question of age is far less cut and dry than it would be for an actual pokémon. He had the physical biology, wisdom and maturity of an adult, but a childlike sense of playfulness, innocence and naivete - his human soul had only been five years old, after all. Like many other adults, he'd wanted a mate and a child, and his mind had often been consumed with many of the usual sort of worries and issues that plague grownups. Yet at the same time, he enjoyed playing with toys (or any object he could treat as a toy), became incredibly excited over simple things such as chocolate or cuddles, and once even sat up starry-eyed all night on Christmas Eve, hoping to catch even a fleeting glimpse of Santa Claus. Kojyuumen have short life expetancies due to their mismatched bodies and souls - it's like receiving an organ transplant that the body slowly rejects due to incompatability, except it's the soul rejecting the body, and the body pushing back and rejecting the soul, and it's been happening from the very moment you were conceived. Alex's five years of life could thus be described more accurately, in human terms, as "five going on thirty going on eighty." As an aside, Alex has a still-living counterpart from the mysterious plane that Sorceress Tabitha, among others, hails from - this Alex, however, was born in the correct body. One of Alex's great joys was to be called handsome, not cute or adorable. He was a dignified little man, not a cuddly toy! Appearance and Mannerisms Alex's body was unusually small by pikachu standards, although to be much smaller than a genuine pokémon is entirely normal and expected for kojyuumen; standing at only eight or nine inches tall, if measured while he was on his haunches, and including his long ears. At his full pichu height, he was even shorter; managing only a paltry six inches while seated. His brilliantly glossy, orange-yellow fur (shiny kojyuumen, unlike shiny pokémon, are not particuarly rare) was much fluffier than that of most pikachu, particularly about his forehead, chest and along his cheeks, which gave him a vaguely humanlike appearance. This excessive fluffiness was also present during his body's pichu stage, although it wasn't quite as bushy. His bright golden eyes were striking, and truly were the windows to his soul - his gaze often reflected multiple emotions at once; some of them more obvious than others. Even at his happiest, Alex was never quite able to shake a sense of deep sadness and pain, both mental and physical - it lingered always in his eyes, even if he subconsciously tried to hide it for much of his life with his every other action. Alex was well-known for his odd speaking mannerisms, which are not uncommon among his yokai class. He was never I''' - when addressing himself, he was '''Alex, in the third person. Everyone he knew (with only two exceptions - one his father, Dandelion, the second his wife, Alexa) was always called by their name and a hyphenated honorific, never their name alone - Misha-friend, for example, or Doopliss-'chu, or Lance-daddy (the vast majority of people were 'name-friend' to Alex). 'Chuish' seemed to be somewhat difficult for Alex to grasp in general, both in terms of effort as well as how differently the language works compared to human tongues; to make it easier he often dropped the short words in his sentences and condensed his ideas - the statement "I've travelled a long way to reach this forest" might thus become "Alex walked lots to get here." Although he tripped over Chuish in the manner of a second-language student (because that's exactly what he was - although, even if he'd been immersed in Chuish from the day of his hatching, he'd still have struggled to speak it properly; human languages naturally make far more sense to him), his clumsy speech was generally considered by others to be charming and cute, rather than any sort of flaw. Alex was able to understand humans - but only if they spoke Japanese, the language of a beloved human from his past known as Haruto-friend, and Alex's own first language (although he could not speak Japanese, he nevertheless thought in it, and had to mentally juggle translations every time he wanted to open his mouth and talk). At the time of Alex's death, his English skills had been steadily improving - he wasn't fluent by any means, but he had started to pick up words here and there the more he shared his company with English-speakers. Alex's primary, and most notable, possession was the long, bright yellow scarf he wore about his neck, which was decorated with an inert Thunderstone. The scarf, gifted to him by Sagi-friend and which he named Hogosha (Japanese 保護者, kana ほごしゃ - meaning 'guardian, protector' in English) was no mere accessory - despite being imbued with a dormant cosmic power as a resullt of its creation, its primary purpose was to protect Alex's 'secret', and thus, conceal his most painful memory from prying eyes. In his pichu body, he'd not needed it - the thick ruff of black fur about his neck had hid his secret quite nicely. But in his pikachu, the scarf had felt essential for the vast majority of his life. The 'secret' itself had been a large, ugly scar - which isn't even the only one of those that Alex had; there was a second on his side, caused by a far more recent injury incurred in a Dusk facility, and made worse by a rather jealous mimikyu. But while that scar, mostly concealed by his fluffy fur, was earned in the course of saving the life of his lopunny pal, Lady-friend, the injury he hid with Hogosha was 'earned' in the course of destroying a life, an act he blamed on himself for years. And for that reason, he hid it - and his own ugliness - away from the world, and resolved to try and and do - and be - good to atone for this one terrible clueless act. Although this was not always so, for the last four years of his life Alex refused to kill for food despite the omniverous nature of his 'chu body - he wouldn't even kill plants. The meat that had been necessary as part of his diet was obtained through alternate means, such as by eating carrion, although it was always with a heavy, guilty heart; as if he were commiting a grave sin in consuming a corpse. History It is known, either through Alex's own words or those of his player, that he hailed from the mysterious Sea of Trees; that he had no memories of his mother, Rose (an actual pikachu; who, with a second actual 'chu, later went on to mother Hazel, making these characters half-siblings); that his earliest memories were traumatic ones involving drowning (leaving him with a lifelong phobia of water); and that he spent at least a portion of his early life in the care of his father, Dandelion - an odd, scruffy yokai who, like Alex himself, wore the appearance of a pikachu despite not actually being one. Dandelion was one of only two people in Alex's life to who's name he affixed no honorifics - he rarely spoke of his father, but when he did, Dandelion was simply referred to as Papa. (It is clear that something happened to Dandelion that caused Alex to be wandering on his own, but the exact details haven't been revealed - the little that is known is that it has something to do with the scarf-covered scar on Alex's neck, at least in part; and that Alex placed the entirety of the blame for this event upon himself. - This info is out of date and must be edited). The only other figure from Alex's past that he'd mentioned had been a young Japanese man, Haruto-friend. (About as much was known about Haruto-friend as was about Papa - he was another nebulous figure to whom something had happened, something for which the guilt that the little fellow felt couldn't ever be wiped away. - This info is out of date and must be edited). Eventually, Alex was left entirely alone, with nowhere to go and nothing to do but flee the terrible forest of his birth, lest he too be swallowed up in it... The deep trauma Alex endured had deeply affected every facet of his personality. He had a morbid fear of water to the point where he was reluctant even to drink, denying his tiny body the necessary substance until it could no longer stand the feelings of dehydration. He was also an ardent pacifist, and would not fight or cause harm to others - even towards someone who was trying to kill him - although this was not entirely motivated by morals, only partially so (the more a kojyuumen uses Typed-attacks, the more they widen the divde beween their pokémon body and their human soul, leaving them vulnerable to being consumed by a dangerous madness). Alex was fiercely loyal, and because he knew deeply the fragility of relationships, it made him treasure those he'd forged as all the more precious. Knowing any day with a loved one could be his last - Alex was acutely aware of his own mortality and his failing health to his dying breath - he always tried his best for them, for their sake and for his. All he wanted was to find what he called his kibou, or hope (in the form of a mate and child, in the form of all of his friends, in the form of his own choices); and thus finally quell the pain, guilt, and anger that weighed his heart. To be free to be happy, truly happy, and unafraid of what the future may hold. And in the end, Alex found his kibou. Alex's upbringing, much of it in isolation, had another negative effect, especially when taken in combination with the core of his youthful human soul - it left him highly naive, and very, very easy to take advantage of and mislead due to him simply not having understood or know any better. If someone he trusted even a little told him something, his first inclination was to believe it without really questioning it. He always wanted to believe the best of people, as well, and this occasionally led him to put his trust in indivuals that he really shouldn't have. (Details on how, exactly, Alex died will be added here). Relationships Despite the fact that yokai are not generally known for being particularly lovable creatures, Alex had many friends - but he managed to form especially close bonds with several indivuals over the course of his life. His first notable bond was formed with the sceptile Lanciot, whom he loved and trusted so absolutely that he called him Lance-''daddy'', viewing him as a second parent. He would have sacrificed his life for his adoptive father in an instant, and was so strongly devoted to him as a child that they were seldom seen apart (even when one might have thought Lance was by himself, Alex might have been snuggled up in his tail, fast asleep). While Alex grew to be an adult with his own home, and Lance himself departed to other, distant forests, he thought warmly and fondly of his adoptive father to the last. other long-gone presence from his life that he ached to reconnect with, but never did, was the shiny lucario, Anubis; a kindly soul who took care of him in the aftermath of an assault by the 'evil-fox', Knight, and who gave to him some of her own life force to restore him back to health. To the young Alex, she had been like a gleaming golden goddess, and Anubis was also his first crush (although not his last). POG-friend was another, more recent friend. The demon in the guise of a houndoom cared for Alex a great deal and the feeling was mutual; Alex tried to do his best for him in everything. And of course, there was the love of his life and his beloved partner Alexa, a fellow yokai...more about her will be added at a later date. Stat Stuff If put into game terms, Alex would have been be Level 10 or so. He was a pacifist who would rather befriend others (or at least attempt to dodge their attacks, and then proceed to make an escape) than battle them, but he could have potentially been driven to violence if he were pushed to an emotional extreme, such as a loved one's life being in mortal peril. However, he had very little power behind his moves, and like all kojyuumen, he was very frail. Nature: Lonely (-Defense, +Attack) Preferred Flavor: Spicy. Dislikes sour. Ability: Static Typed-Moveset: Thundershock/Charm/Thunder Wave/Quick Attack Trivia * Alex, as a being who blurred the boundaries between the human and nonhuman world, was named after another creature who did much the same in real life - the 'A'vian 'L'anguage 'Ex'periment, Alex the parrot. Category:Characters Category:Natives Category:Yokai